terra africa Wild Thing!

Who´s the pray...Fantastic shot, perfect.

Beautiful! The matching colors in background make it a 10 for me

Excellent photo. But I hope you were in a car or truck when you took the shot. With a 200mm lens, you couldn't have been that far from the animal.

Did you get this shot with a 200mm lens? If so, where were you hiding? Coz the animal seems to be interested in you.

Technically good but the tight crop and background don't give context limiting the power of this image.

I'm struggling to find my way in this new ratings structure, so forgive if I step on your toes.

 

I feel this image is above average, but not extremely far above average. Here's why: The image is sharp, fairly well composed, and well exposed. Those are what we would expect from the average shooter on any subject. Because this is a wild animal, and a killing one at that, the ability to achieve these basic photographic elements is a little bit harder, something the average photographer might have trouble doing.

 

Now, to make this an excellent photograph, I would want to see the leopord doing more than crouching in the dirt. Perhaps crouching down with some prey animal either beneath its feet, or elsewhere within the frame, or chasing another animal, or pulling one down, or with blood dripping from its jaws, etc. Here, we see a crouching leopard, which is certainly interesting, but there is very little context for its action. Could it be just waking up, or just about to lie down? My point is that it is very hard for me to tell what happened next with this subject, or what happened just before this shot was taken. There is no element of Story here that I can see, which in my opinion would have raised this image to the level of excellence.

Damn! What a picture. Really great. Contrast and sharpness are incredible.

Holy cow! I hope you a bit away from this cat! Great photo shot!

If this was shot in the wild and not at an outdoor zoo, then this is one incredible image; the difference being that the former is very difficult to capture. I assume it's done in the bush, so very nice job. The catchlight eyes are key to this enchanting image.

Brilliant close up capture. I mean I know you used a zoom but it does seem like you were close :-)

Clarity, tones and expression excellent.

No, I don't know the story either. All I know is the MOMENT. This wild beast is staring me down. there is power in its posture. It's tail is curled in excitement. There is intent in its eyes. That is the story. Well Captured.

I cannot say which one I like better. this is perfect too

beautiful

How did you escape? .. Great photo.

Fabulous images, Fred! All of them. This is just my favorite. Is this the famous Samadi? If it is, I can see why she is so popular. She is a beautiful creature and you've caught her about as well as possible. Magnificent work!

Strongest photo in wildlife folder,daring one:-)

This is an absolutely wonderful photo! Great scanning job too.

 

 

Excellent!

Nice

Graceful and in silence it approaches its victim...

Can I come work for you... I am in awe of your photography! I thought my gator shots were good, but I've never been able to get his close to a big cat without bars between me and it... Incredible!

Wonderful!

I'm going to have to respectfully disagree with Doug Burgess. When I judge the subject matter of a photo, I look for how the photo captures the decisive moment and the essential character. The decisive moment, like almost any good frontal protrait, is eye contact: a direct and dramatic connection that is formed between the viewer and the subject. He's captured the leopard in a predatory, almost sinister, crouch, tail in mid-twitch, giving the viewer the impression that they're in the environment with the animal, and that they're on the menu. This is the essential character of the photo. So, to my mind, it's an exquisite photograph if viewed as a portrait of the leopard rather than a documentary of the leopard.

 

I would gripe that the ground and grass are too texturally similar to the coloration of the cat, but the shallow DOF works well here to separate subject from background. The lighting is harsh, too, but there's still plenty of shadow and highlight detail, so it's not all that harsh. All in all another winner.

 

~ Matt Gabriel

To me it is obvious that this cat was lying down and is slowly getting up preparing to attack the photographer. Look at the arch on that cats back and the look in it's eyes. It's sharp and has great depth of field. It's certainly captures a defining moment and is an excellent shot.